JPH05317763A - Coating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To carry out the coating work efficiently and correspondingly in a proper manner to, for example, materials to be coated of different shapes and sizes in a coating device for coating the materials carried by a conveyor even under at random conveyence. CONSTITUTION:The basic constitution of a coating device 10 consists of a shape sensing means 17 for sensing the shapes of materials 16a, 16b... to be coated, carried by a conveyor 13, and a teaching regenerating type robot 12 supporting a coating gun 11 and working following the gun locus taught preliminarily. When the material to be coated reaches the position facing the robot 12, the coating gun 11 is on-off controlled based on the shape data of the material to be coated from a shape sensing means 17 while the robot 12 works for regeneration following the movement locus taught preliminarily.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coating apparatus for spraying a coating material on a coating material conveyed by a conveyor to coat the coating material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of a conventional coating apparatus of this type is shown in FIG. In the above-mentioned conventional coating apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 1, a reciprocator 3 provided with a coating gun 2 movable in the vertical direction (Z direction) and the front-back direction (Y direction) faces a side portion of a conveyor 4. The workpieces 5a, 5 that are continuously conveyed by the conveyor 4 are provided on the upstream side of the conveyor 4 in the conveying direction.
Shape detecting means 6 for detecting each shape of b, 5c, 5d, ...
Have been deployed. The shape / shape detecting means 6 is mounted in a state in which photoelectric cell units 7 and 8 each having a plurality of light emitting elements and light receiving elements arranged to face each other are orthogonal to each other. Is detected, and the phototube unit 8 detects the shape of the object to be coated in the Z direction. In the coating apparatus 1 according to the above configuration, when the objects 5a, 5b, ... Conveyed by the conveyor 4 reach the front of the coating gun 2, the coating gun 2 is moved in the Y and / or Z direction and at the same time. The coating object is coated by ejecting the coating material from the coating material 2. That is, based on the detection data relating to the Z direction of the object to be coated detected by the photoelectric tube unit 8, the coating gun 2 is turned on when the object to be coated is in front of the coating gun 2 and is turned off when there is no object. Further, based on the detection data relating to the Y direction of the object to be coated detected by the photoelectric tube unit 7, the coating gun 2 is so arranged that the distance from the coating surface of the object to be coated to the coating gun 2 is always constant. Is moved back and forth.

In this case, the coating pitch in the X direction by the coating gun 2 is preset based on the unit movement amount of the conveyor 4 detected by the conveyor pulse unit 9. However, in the coating apparatus 1 as described above, since the operation of the reciprocator 3 during the coating operation is uniform, it is possible to appropriately cope with the conditions such as the shape and size of the object to be coated. It cannot be painted. Therefore, in consideration of the above background, it has been proposed to perform painting work using a teaching-playback type robot.
When this kind of robot is applied, it is necessary to teach all the data relating to the movement trajectory of the coating gun and its on / off timing for each object to be coated prior to the coating work, and the time and effort involved in the teaching are also required. By the way, the number of data relating to teaching becomes enormous, which is not preferable in terms of data storage capacity and its processing speed. further,
In the system as described above, in the line where coating is performed while randomly transporting objects with different shapes,
There is also a problem that it is not possible to respond appropriately. Therefore, the present invention has been devised in view of the above circumstances, and for example, a coating apparatus that can appropriately and efficiently perform coating even when objects to be coated having different shapes and sizes are randomly transported. It is intended to be provided.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the main means adopted by the present invention is that the main point is that the paint is ejected from the coating gun toward the object to be coated conveyed by the conveyor. In the coating device for coating the object to be coated, the shape detecting means disposed on the upstream side of the conveyor in the conveying direction to detect the shape of the object to be coated, and the side portion of the conveyor which is the shape detecting means. A teaching-replay type robot that is installed on the downstream side and that operates in accordance with a pre-teached locus for supporting the coating gun, and a pre-teached movement when the object to be coated reaches a position facing the robot. Control means for controlling the on / off of the coating gun based on the shape data of the object to be coated from the shape detecting means while operating the robot according to the locus. A coating apparatus according.

[0005]

In the coating apparatus according to the present invention, when the object to be coated conveyed by the conveyor reaches the position facing the robot, the robot operates in accordance with the movement locus taught in advance. Then, the coating gun is controlled on / off based on the shape data of the object to be coated from the shape detecting means, and the object to be coated is coated. That is, the on / off control of the coating gun can be suitably performed according to the shape and size of the object to be coated, and the number of teaching data relating to the on / off control of the coating gun of the robot can be reduced.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings for the understanding of the present invention. The following embodiments are examples of embodying the present invention and are not of the nature to limit the technical scope of the present invention. Here, FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a main part of a control system of the coating apparatus. In the coating apparatus 10 according to this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a teaching reproduction type, for example, an articulated robot (hereinafter referred to as a robot) 12 that supports a coating gun 11 and operates according to a pre-teached trajectory. It is provided so as to face the side of the conveyor 13. The coating robot 12 is connected to the control device 14, and the coating gun 11 is
It is connected to an air panel 15 which gives an ON / OFF command to the coating gun 11. Formed on the upstream side of the conveyor 13 in the conveying direction is a shape detecting means 17 for detecting the shapes of the objects 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, ... In the shape detecting means 17, photoelectric tube units 19 and 20 formed by arranging a plurality of light emitting elements and light receiving elements, which are arranged in parallel, on a gate frame 18 installed so as to straddle the conveyor 13 are orthogonal to each other. It is installed in the state. The photoelectric tube unit 19 detects the shape of the object to be coated in the Y direction, and the photoelectric tube unit 20 detects the shape of the object to be coated in the Z direction.
The shape detecting means 17 is connected to the control device 14, and the control device 14 further includes the conveyor 1
A conveyor pulse unit 21 for detecting the moving amount of 3 is connected.

In the coating apparatus 10, the object to be coated conveyed by the conveyor 13 is the robot 1 described above.
When it reaches a position opposite to 2, the robot 12 is regenerated according to a movement locus taught in advance. At the same time, the coating gun 11 is ON / OFF controlled based on the shape data of the object to be coated from the shape detecting means 17. As a result, paint is ejected from the coating gun 11 onto the object to be coated, and the object to be coated is coated. For example, with respect to the object 16b having a cubic shape, when the shape data is input from the shape detecting means 17 to the control device 14, the robot 12 is controlled by the robot 12 at an appropriate timing based on the data from the conveyor pulse unit 21. 16b to be coated
The coating gun 11 is operated so as to face the upper surface and the lower surface in addition to the front side of the
On / off control of the coating gun 11 is appropriately performed based on the shape data of b. That is, the coating device 10 is controlled based on the appearance and shape information of the object to be coated based on the data from the shape detecting means 17, and the movement locus of the coating gun 11 based on teaching data by teaching. Coating apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment
As described above, 0 can control the on / off of the coating gun 11 according to the shape and size of the object to be coated, and the robot 12 can be turned on / off.
The number of teaching data related to the off control is reduced. Therefore, even if objects to be coated having different shapes and sizes are randomly transported, for example, the coating work can be efficiently performed in accordance with the shape and the like. In the above embodiments, the case where the articulated robot 12 is applied has been described as an example, but the entire apparatus may be configured using a linear motion type manipulator having a teaching reproduction function.

[0008]

As described above, the present invention is a coating apparatus for spraying paint from a coating gun toward an article to be coated conveyed by a conveyor to coat the article to be coated. A shape detecting means for detecting the shape of the object to be coated, and a side part of the conveyor downstream of the shape detecting means for supporting the coating gun and teaching movement in advance. A teaching replay type robot that operates according to a locus, and when the object to be coated reaches a position facing the robot, the object to be coated from the shape detecting means while operating the robot according to a previously taught movement path. And a control means for controlling the on / off of the coating gun based on the shape data of the coating gun. Be transported randomly suitably corresponds can be performed efficiently painting operations, it is advantageous to high-mix low-volume production.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a main part of a control system of the coating apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional coating device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Coating device 11 ... Coating gun 12 ... Robot 13 ... Conveyor 14 ... Control device 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d ... Coated object 17 ... Shape detection means 19, 20 ... Phototube unit 21 ... Conveyor pulse unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A coating apparatus for coating an object to be coated by ejecting paint from a coating gun toward the object to be coated conveyed by a conveyor, wherein the object to be coated is arranged upstream of the conveyor in the conveying direction. Detecting means for detecting the shape of the robot, and a teaching reproduction type robot which is provided on the side of the conveyor on the downstream side of the shape detecting means and which supports the coating gun and operates in accordance with a pre-taught locus. And when the object to be coated reaches a position facing the robot, the coating gun is operated based on the shape data of the object to be coated from the shape detecting means while operating the robot in accordance with a previously taught movement path. And a control means for controlling ON / OFF of the coating apparatus.